The Name
by shinachiku-uzumaki
Summary: "What kind of name is 'Shinachiku'. Is this a joke to you?" NaruSaku/Ninjaverse


The evening approached slowly, but she didn't mind. Time moved quickly for the last few months.

Sakura placed a hand upon her swollen belly as she walked away from the darkening window. Her doctor, who also happened to be her coworker, instructed her to stay off her feet during the final few weeks. Sakura agreed before she realized how tasking it was to sit still with a full-grown infant moving around all throughout the day. It was exhausting to just sit still and relax.

She carefully fell into the comfortable chair she grew accustomed sitting in. The chair is supposed to be especially comfortable, recommended for pregnant mothers, or so Naruto told her. He bought it when her back pains began. The chair didn't look like much, but she had to admit the chair prevented more of them.

A knock at the door brought her out of her daze. Naruto poked his blond head through the door, glancing around the room before his eyes came to rest on her and their eyes met. Sakura wondered if their son would have his blue eyes or her green ones.

"In here again huh?" He came into the room and sat on the floor, leaning his back against her chair.

"Well, I might as well get used to it. I'm sure we'll be in here a lot."

"I guess you're right. Good thing I did so much work on it." Naruto spent weeks preparing the nursery for their newborn son. He asked Sakura to choose what things she wanted to fill the room and he would take care of the rest. Despite the mistakes, the mix-ups, and the numerous breaks, the room looked perfect. Naruto insisted that the walls be painted a shade of green; it was just about the only thing he insisted on. They bought a spacious crib that would last until their son outgrew it. It came with a matching changing table that held many diapers. Many many diapers… Naruto never knew that babies needed so many. He still found it hard to believe they needed so many.

They also bought a matching dresser filled with clothes that would fit until their son reached six months old. Babies developed at different rates so many of the clothes might be unwearable the moment he's born, Naruto hoped otherwise. They had other trinkets and gadgets that were for the baby as well…

"Naruto?" Sakura ran her hands through his messy hair.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan?"

"Come here." He was sitting right next to her chair; 'come here' meant something else. Naruto moved onto his knees and positioned himself in front of her. He placed his hands over her swollen stomach before she moved them into place, right in the spots where he felt his son moving and squirming inside.

"He's ready to come out of there, huh?"

"I'm ready too," Sakura sighed. She watched as Naruto slowly moved his hands across her stomach. The light massage felt nice, but it didn't relieve her as much as it did a few months ago.

"Sakura-chan."

"Hm?"

"About that name…"

Sakura immediately rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Please, just listen alright?"

"I already said NO, Naruto. I don't like that name. It's a mouth full."

"But just let me-"

"What kind of name is 'Shinachiku'. Is this a joke to you?"

"Sakura please! Just … let me explain this time alright? Calm down." As time went on and the pregnancy continued, he noticed Sakura got worked up much faster than normal. "I don't want to name him 'Shinachiku' because of me, or at least, not in the way you think."

Sakura continued to frown and looked away. She pretended not to listen, but it was an invitation to speak. Naruto took a deep breath and rested his head on her stomach.

"Do you know how I got my name?"

"… I guess." She glanced in his direction, recalling the late godfather Jiraiya. She hadn't interacted with the man much, but Tsunade always spoke about with him a mix of fondness and annoyance.

"But not in detail right?" Naruto grinned. "Well, my name is a ramen topping. Like 'Shinachiku'." When Sakura started to frown more, Naruto continued. "But I wasn't named after the ramen topping; I'm named after a fictional character."

"A fictional character…"

"Yeah. One of the first books old man wrote, 'The Tale of a Gutsy Ninja'. It's not one of the perverted ones. Actually, you'll really like it, " he explained when Sakura grimaced. "The main character is a guy who wants to change the ninja world and end the cycle of hatred. He is strong, brave, and never gives up."

"Uh huh…" She focused her attention on him now. She rested her elbow on the armrest of the chair and used her hand to rest her chin.

"I'm serious. A ninja who is strong, brave, and never gives up. His name is 'Naruto'. Jiraiya got the name while eating ramen at a shop, he was stuck on what to name him."

"So you **were** named after a topping of ramen."

"Sort of… but not really Sakura-chan." She shook her head. "So, skip to when the book was published, my dad got one of the first copies. He loved it so much… he wanted to name me after the main character. He wanted me to be like the main character with such a strong nindo."

"… Your mother was alright with that?"

"Yeah. They both agreed to it even though Jiraiya tried to talk them out of it a few times. I have a copy around here somewhere; I'll give it to you to read."

The room fell into a contemplative silence. Sakura didn't expect Naruto's name to be so sentimental. She didn't see the connection to 'Shinachiku'… but for once, she wanted to know more.

"So… why 'Shinachiku'." She asked finally. Her interest encouraged Naruto to push harder on the idea.

"Sakura-chan… do you remember that 'dream'." His voice dropped to a whisper.

"What dream?" She whispered as well.

"The dream where things weren't quite right." He watched as her face shifted from confusion to shock and surprise.

"Naru-"

"That dream where everything was switched around. Where I had my parents where you didn't. Where all our friends weren't themselves. Where we fought my other self."

The room fell into silence again, this time, a little less comforting. They were the only two who knew about what happened that night, or had it been a few days? They were never too sure. They decided to keep quiet about it. Now the whispering made sense.

"While I was there… I had a family. A real one. It was like a dream… well, it was a dream. At the time, it was probably the best thing that had ever happened to me… to have experienced that.

"I got to see my parents interacting. I looked at pictures from when I was a baby and the various things I did growing up. Even my room was filled with things that screamed ME, minus a few things. Even though it wasn't real… I wanted it to be. I never wanted to leave."

Sakura recalled the glimpse she saw of Naruto and his dream family. They were laughing over a cake his mother had just destroyed. Cake covered their clothes and their furniture, his father looked so distraught and confused, but Naruto laughed. He looked… genuinely happy. She hadn't seen him so delighted until then. Now she saw his genuine happiness many times, including when he proposed and she said yes, or when they tied the knot, and most recently, when they discovered they were having a child. She knew she would see it again when their son was born, when he first walked, when he first talked, and every other significant part of their lives.

"I've been thinking a lot about 'Menma' and the life he lived, the life I wanted. I started to think… I still want to live like that. Even if I'm not the child and I am the father… I want us to provide a family like that where 'Menma' existed."

"… Then… why not 'Menma'?"

"Well, it's kind of weird to name him after myself technically right? So…"

"… 'Shinachiku'." Sakura shifted in her chair a little, looking down at Naruto leaning against her stomach. So it seemed he had put a lot of thought into the name. She assumed his intentions to be childish and stupid, but they weren't. Despite that, the name debate still raged inside of her.

"… I'll think about it."

"Really?" If he had a wagging tail, he'd look just like a puppy. Sakura looked away, refusing to meet his pleading puppy like eyes.

"I'm not promising anything."

"Sakura-channnnn…"

Before she could retort, her stomach growled loudly. She blushed from embarrassment, but Naruto laughed.

"I'll go whip you up something to eat while you think about it, Sakura-chan!" He stood up and left the room to prepare her a meal. Sakura huffed and held her stomach affectionately.

"Are you on his side already?" Her stomach growled hungrily again as if her own stomach were speaking to her. It wasn't the baby, but their son was probably as hungry as she was. "What do you think of that name? Do you like that name…. Shinachiku?"


End file.
